Remotely-piloted small UAVs (sUAVs) are increasingly used in both military and civilian applications. Since they are generally quite maneuverable, can be launched without runways, and can provide close-in sensing capabilities at low altitudes including possibly indoor environments, they can fill a surveillance mission gap not met by higher-flying UAVs such as predators or global hawks. Furthermore, since they cost much less to manufacture (in the order of thousands of dollars), they are more readily replaceable in the event of crashes during a mission.
In addition to surveillance applications, sUAVs can be great assets to have for other types of operations as well such as area search, aerial mapping, or payload delivery. Examples include supporting search and rescue operations in the aftermath of a disaster, performing aerial survey to provide the most up-to-date battlefield situation awareness at a tactical level, or delivering medicine or supplies to warfighters and the wounded.